Cobb leaders to hold online forum on policing and racism Tuesday

Lisa Cupid, Cobb Board of Commissioners
Cobb commissioner Lisa Cupid

Cobb government, business and community leaders and elected officials will be appearing in an online forum Tuesday afternoon to discuss issues of policing and racism in the wake of protests and violence that has broken out around the country in the last week.

The forum is free and is open for the public to view starting at 2 p.m. Tuesday, and you can sign up here.

As you’re registering, you can submit questions for the panelists to answer and discuss.

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Those participating in the forum include Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce and commissioner Lisa Cupid, Cobb Police Chief Tim Cox, Cobb school board members Charisse Davis, Jaha Howard and Brad Wheeler, Cobb legislative members and mayors and Cobb Chamber of Commerce officials, as well as leaders from the Cobb NAACP and Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

In message she sent out Monday, Cupid, the lone black Cobb commissioner, said “we will discuss protests stemming from the death of George Floyd and ways we can address racism locally.”

Protests began after George Floyd, a black man in Minneapolis, died in police custody, facing the ground and handcuffed, with a white officer seen pushing his knee on his neck.

Demonstrations started out peacefully but turned violent in Minneapolis and other cities, including Atlanta, which has been under a curfew for the last three days, as looting, burning and property destruction has ensued.

On Saturday, the Cobb, Marietta and Smyrna police departments issued a joint statement about protests being planned in the county. On Sunday, peaceful protests took place in Kennesaw and in Marietta, during which protesters marched from Cobb Police headquarters to the Square.

On Sunday night, Howard and Davis participated in a peaceful protest in Smyrna. Another protest is taking place in the city of Marietta on Monday.

 

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